Parish Update – Friday, Sept. 24
Happy Friday, and my goodness, what a beautiful day it is. I’m not even going to bother asking if you’re enjoying this glorious run of fall weather we’re experiencing. If this is not to your liking, please check your pulse! These mild days and cool nights make living along the Texas Gulf coast the rest of the time worth it. Let’s pray it lasts!
I always like when Moses appears in our first reading at Sunday Mass as he will this weekend on the
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time. As I’ve stated many times, I’m a big fan of Moses, and outside of Jesus and probably Mary, too, he’s my favorite person in all of the Sacred Scriptures. In the Book of Numbers this weekend we hear how God comes down in the cloud and strikes up a conversation with Moses, and then “takes” some of the Spirit that was on Moses and bestows it to the elders. I find that fascinating.
The Spirit that Moses has, which he of course received from God, is, in a sense, subdivided and given to others, and when the elders receive some of what Moses had been given, they too are able to prophesy in the name of the Lord. Friends, that is some powerful stuff!
As great and powerful as the Spirit is, Joshua is not happy about it. Usually Joshua comes across as one of the really good guys in the Old Testament, but in this passage we see that he, like us, is far too human. He’s a bit jealous and petty. He’s upset that Eldad and Medad, who were not present when the Spirit was given, were nonetheless prophesying still the same. He implores Moses to stop them, but being imminently wise Moses refuses to take that bait. “Are you jealous for my sake?” he asks. “Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets.”
Brothers and sisters you and I are among “all the people” of the Lord and it is incumbent on us to make the Lord known. We have the gift of the Spirit whether we think we do or not and others have been given it too. Let us not be like Joshua and worry about who should or shouldn’t be doing the Lord’s work. If they are speaking the truth and preaching God’s words by lives of faith and action, then let us not get in the way of it being heard.
Here’s what is happening around CtR this week:
• We invite you to please join us for Mass this weekend, either in person or via our
livestream on Sunday at 9 a.m. on both our Facebook and YouTube pages. You can find the link to the livestream at
www.ctrcc.com/live-stream, and in addition, you’ll find there both a worship aid and a link to the Scripture readings to follow along with Mass. And you can make your weekly offertory contribution online at
www.ctrcc.com/donate. … If you’d like to join us in person for Mass, we welcome you on Saturday at 5 p.m., or Sunday at 7, 9, and 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. … It’s also Priesthood Sunday, a day to reflect upon and affirm the role of the priesthood in the life of the Church. On behalf of
Fr. Vincent, thank you for your prayers for us and all priests. We are blessed to serve you!
• As you come to Mass this weekend remember that we're nearing the end of our
peanut butter and jelly drive. The peanut butter is for our friends at
Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church in Houston’s 5th Ward (our “twinned” parish) who are re-opening their Food Pantry soon and the one item they have asked for assistance with is peanut butter. The jelly is part of the “Jam for CAM” event of
Cypress Assistance Ministries and that’s to help stock their food pantry at their new location which will be in a matter of weeks. Various churches and organizations have signed up for a particular item and they will all “jam” the shelves with that one item. Our item for CtR is jelly. (Another church is taking care of the local peanut butter needs.) Bring your PB&J to Mass or drop it off in the office and we’ll make sure it gets to those most in need.
• Earlier in the summer we announced
Linda Watso, our Coordinator of Religious Education, will move up to become our new Director of R.E., and as such we are seeking to hire a new coordinator to work alongside her just as she did under
Kathy Kelley. The Coordinator of R.E. is a 35-hour per week position that has primary responsibility to plan and oversee the
Religious Education program, Pre-K3 through 6th grades. This includes the summer activities of
Vacation Bible School and our
Catholic Faith Camp, too. Qualified applicants will have been involved in parish catechetical ministry previously and obtained or be working on their Archdiocesan catechist certification. Please spread the word to those who might be interested. The complete job description can be found on our website at
www.ctrcc.com/re.
• Let’s take a look ahead into October when we have a number of events taking place that are worth your time and attention. We’ll have our annual
Blessing of the Animals on Saturday, Oct. 2 at 11 a.m. in honor of the patron saint of animals,
St. Francis of Assisi, who was, of course, a friend to all of God’s creatures. Plan to join us in the circle drive in front of the Parish Life Center. It only takes about 15 minutes or so, but it’s a fun event.
All creatures, great and small, are welcome to attend. We always have a lot of dogs, a few cats, some fish, a hamster or two and a menagerie of other creatures. This is one of my favorite events of the year where I get to meet your furry friends. If you don’t have one, feel free to borrow your neighbor’s pet and join us. Animals do not have to be Catholic to receive the blessing!
• Then, on Columbus Day, Monday, Oct. 11, our annual
Knights of Columbus Council #8771 CtR Golf Tournament is taking place at Cypress Lakes Golf Club, only about 10 minutes west of the parish. The shotgun start will go off at 12 noon and entry fee is only $135 with room for foursomes teams and single players. It includes a box lunch and a terrific barbecue dinner afterwards and plenty of fun along the way. Our Knights of Columbus always do a great job of hosting it each year and proceeds go to benefit CAM and youth scholarships from the parish. See our CtR website for more information, or you can register directly on the Knights’ page at
www.8771events.org.
• Remember as well our
Evening of Taizé Prayer and Community Dinner happening on Friday, Oct. 15. The service will start at 7 p.m. in the Church, and our Knights of Columbus is hosting a free community dinner in the Parish Hall beginning at 5:30 p.m. …
Taizé Prayer is a distinctive style of prayer, quiet and reflective in nature, and incorporates periods of silence with readings from Scripture, prayers of praise and intercession, and beautiful music and chants based on the Psalms or other parts of Scripture that moves your prayer from the head to the heart. … What a blessing it will be for us to gather as a community for a shared meal, and then move into the church for a time of prayer. It’s all free, though we do ask you to RSVP so we might have a good idea of how much to prepare. Childcare will also be provided. For more information, see
www.ctrcc.com/taizeprayer.
• Our
CtR Men's Retreat gets underway this evening at the parish and runs through tomorrow afternoon. Please keep the 40 men (and the team leading them) in your prayers. May the Lord bless them and quench their spiritual thirst as they draw near to Him in prayer, adoration, and fraternal conversation.
The last week of September and first week of October gives us a whole heavenly host of saints from whom to seek divine intercession. We are blessed with a saintly overload, if that is possible! Keep this list handy for your prayer the next few days.
St. Vincent de Paul (Sept. 27), pray for us!
St. Wenceslaus, the Good King, (Sept. 28), pray for us!
Archangels St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael (Sept. 29), pray for us!
St. Jerome (Sept. 30), pray for us!
St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower (Oct. 1), pray for us!
Guardian Angels (Oct. 2), pray for us!
St. Francis of Assisi (Oct. 4), pray for us!
Peace, Fr. Sean